Federal minister Pablo Rodriguez to run for Quebec Liberal leadership

The federal Liberals' political lieutenant for Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, will run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ). He is scheduled to make the announcement Thursday in Gatineau.

Rodriguez, who is also the federal Minister of Transport, will resign from his cabinet position this week to focus on the leadership.

The Minister of Procurement and MP for the riding of Quebec, Jean-Yves Duclos, could not hide the fact that Rodriguez's departure creates a "void." The news also comes just after a crushing defeat for the Liberals, who saw the Bloc Québécois snatch the seat of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun from them in a byelection.

"Whether it's today, tomorrow or the day before yesterday, it doesn't really matter," said Duclos. "The fact is that he leaves a magnificent legacy for the Quebec region, an extraordinary support for the actors in my riding."

According to Duclos, Rodriguez's decision was made "some time ago" and was well "considered."

The chair of the Quebec caucus for the federal Liberals, Stéphane Lauzon, echoed the same sentiment.

The MP nevertheless expressed his disappointment, shared by other Liberal elected officials who spoke to journalists on their way to their weekly caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

"Indeed, it's a big loss for the Quebec caucus," said Lauzon, who represents the Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, in the Outaouais. Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor admitted to being "disappointed" seeing Rodriguez leave.

The co-chair of the Liberals' upcoming campaign, Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada, believes that the resigning minister was a "mentor in terms of political strategy" for her.

"He's a political machine, Pablo," Soraya Martinez said, denying that Rodriguez may have decided to leave a ship starting to take on water. She noted that the PLQ is not in a very good position at the moment.

"He's going to rebuild something that is, what, in fourth, fifth (place). I mean, it's not out of opportunism that he's going to do this," she said.

The departure comes as several Liberals have announced that they will not run again in the next election that could be called in the coming months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's team is also dealing with the loss of their campaign manager, Jeremy Broadhurst.

Rumours that Rodriguez would run for the Liberal leadership had been circulating for several weeks. He seems to have chosen to wait until the byelection in LaSalle–Émard–Verdun takes place.

After the Liberal defeat in Toronto–St. Paul's last June, the loss of their stronghold of LaSalle–Émard–Verdun was another blow to Trudeau's government, which has already been badly battered in the polls.

Before even entering the race, Rodriguez had received the support of Liberal MNA Désirée McGraw. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 18, 2024.